4 coping with chronic illness Flashcards
What are common definitions of chronic illness?
APA dictionary definition - Illness that persists for a long period. Chronic illnesses include many major diseases and conditions, such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and arthritis.
Center for Disease Control and Prevention - Chronic diseases are illnesses that are prolonged, do not resolve spontaneously, and are rarely cured completely
What did Lau (n.d.) find in his investigation of the subjective meaning of health?
- Physiological/physical, for example, good condition, have energy
- Psychological, for example, happy, energetic, feel good
- Behavioural, for example, eat, sleep properly
- Future consequences, for example, live longer
- Absence of illness, for example, not sick, no disease, no symptoms
What is the APA definition of adjustment?
‘A change in attitude or behaviour by an individual on the basis of some recognized need to change, particularly to account for changing, atypical, or unexpected conditions.
A well-adjusted person is one who satisfies needs in a healthy, beneficial manner’
What does Moss-Moritz (n.d.) argue for when defining adjustment?
there is no consistent definition
- poor adjustment may not reflect in mood but in other adjustment outcomes
- essentially a mental health problem → specific treatments rather than managing symptoms
- the presence of psychopathology may not always be a consequence of the illness
not always realistic (maintaining quality of life? redefining what ur satisfactory level of QoL is?)
What does the stress and coping model by Lazarus & Folkman (1984) say about adjustment to chronic illness?
adjustment in the face of external stress is influenced by the individual’s appraisals of stressors, the coping strategies they use for managing these stressors, and their appraisal of the efficacy of the coping strategies used
Positive Adjustment:
a manageable challenge and employ effective coping strategies, demonstrating resilience and maintaining a good quality of life despite their condition.
Negative Adjustment:
a severe threat, coupled with ineffective coping strategies (like denial or avoidance), characterized by increased psychological distress and a lower quality of life.
What do Moos & Schaefer (1984) say about adjustment to chronic illness?
core to adjustment are seven categories of adaptive tasks divided into illness-related and general tasks
Illness-related tasks include dealing with symptoms, disability, and treatment, and maintaining relationships with health care staff.
General tasks include preserving a reasonable emotional balance, self-image and sense of competence, sustaining social relationships, and preparing for an uncertain future.
What did the recent Lancet review find about adjustment?
personal background factors, illness-specific factors and social and environmental factors influence
possible key critical events (symptom development, diagnosis, relapse, threat to mortality, change in identity)
+
possible ongoing illness stressors (managing relations, future, limits, autonomy, managing treatment)
both of those disrupt the emotional equilibrium and current QoL
successful adjustment:
- acceptance, self-efficacy, mindset, social support, physical activity, self-management strategies…
adjustment difficulties:
- stress, dysfunctional thoughts, negative symptoms, helplessness, avoidance, venting
According to the SLR by Sharpe and Curran (2006) hat is adjustment?
reponse to a change in the environment that allows the organism to become more suitable adapted to that change
→ occurs over time
in psychology:
desirable state or endpoint
achievement of specific outcomes
operationalised as good quality of life, wellbeing, vitality, positive affect, life satisfaction, self-esteem
What is the definiton of Coping and how does that differ to Adjustment?
Coping = the thoughts and behaviours a person uses to regulate distress, manage the problem causing distress and maintain positive wellbeing
→ results in a successfull outcome (Folkman & Greer, 2000)
-> the result of successful coping is successful adjustment
What is the APA definition of Adjustment Disorder?
the development of clinically significant emotional or behavioural symtpoms in response to an indentifiable stressor or stressors (APA, 1997, p. 623)
What are the three main models in health psychology and how do they relate to adjustment?
Health Belief Model: Rosenstock, 2000
motivation for behaviour is based on perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits and barriers of the performance
TPB: Ajzen, 1991
attitude
intention
perceived control
Self-regulation model - Leventhal & nerenz, 1983
“illness is a problem”
-> problem-solving strategies to go back to normality
interpretation (making sense of it)
coping (adjust and manage)
appraisal (accessing how successful coping was)
According to the illness perception questionnaire (weiman, 1996) what role do illness beliefs play?
emotional representation of illness, illness coherence and a more complex version of the timeline subscale including a cyclical timeline
cognitive biases in patients with ill health
According to the schema enmeshment model (pincus and morley, 2001) what role do illness beliefs play?
illness and self-schema become enmeshed people define themselves by negative aspects of illness and depression can results from chronic illness
What is the reality matching hypothesis?
SRM identifies particular beliefs to be helpful (control over outcome, …)
the more negative the attribution, the more likely psychological disorders are to develop
Folkman, 1984 - frustration and disappointment can arise if an uncontrollable event is appraised as controllable
goodness-of-fit hypothesis
controllability of illness can moderate optimism for example
What is the response shift phenomenon?
Sprangers & Schwarts, 1999
change in an individuals internal standards, values or conceptualisations that occur when faced with a situation, such as ill health
change their expectations about what is important given their new circumstances
they reprioritise their life basically
